Bees

It is estimated that one-third of the human food supply depends on insect
pollination, and bees are responsible for much of the cross-pollination activities in the plant world. Bees that
gather pollen instead of nector are the major type of pollinator in ecosystems that contain flowering plants.
Contract pollination has overtaken the role of honey production for beekeepers in many countries. Monoculture and
the massive decline of many bee secies (both wild and domesticated) have increasingly caused honey bee keepers to
become migratory so that bees can be concentrated in seasonally-varying, high-demand areas of pollinaton. In New
Zealand, the declining population of its native mistletoe has been saved by bee pollination.

Understanding the role of bees in agriculture, environment and in the people's lives, the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is on a mission to save bees from extinction.
Excessive use of pesticides and weed killers is one reason for the dwindling number of bee nests in his area. Lack of knowledge on bees was another reason for the extinction of bees.

Honeybees contribute at least $44 billion a year to the U.S. economy pollinating crops like apples, almonds, avocados, blueberries, broccoli, cherries, cranberries, grapes, peaches, plums, tomatoes, just to name a few; alfalfa and clover for the beef and dairy industries; cotton for our clothes; medicines and 200 million pounds of honey.
Many blue-chip corporations depend on the honeybees for their products including General Mills, Haagen Daz ice cream, Starbucks coffee and Clorox's Burt's Bees, a speciality personal care company with more than 150 products.

In the Northern Hemisphere, it's springtime. And thoughts naturally turn to the birds and the bees. Except, of course, this year — when the bee seems to be in trouble. You've probably heard about colony collapse disorder (CCD) or vanishing bee syndrome, the mysterious and rather dramatic die-off of domesticated honeybees in Europe and North America. Scientists aren't really sure what's going on yet. All that's known for sure is our bee colonies are suddenly disappearing. Affected bees simply leave the hive and don't come back, making diagnosis of the problem even more difficult.
In some areas, losses of honeybees are reported to be as high as 75 percent. The situation means a lot more than high honey prices: bees are primary pollinators in both the human and animal food chains.

DURIAN farmer Chang Teik Seng switched to organic fertilisers after noticing that honeybees were staying away from his 200-odd trees in Balik Pulau, Penang.
Besides pollination, bees are “proof” that the durian is safe, tasty and free of chemicals.